It had once been plausible — though not necessarily accurate — for conservative Christians to regard themselves as part of a “moral majority” in which traditional Judeo-Christian views were broadly shared. That is no longer minimally credible on issues of the family and sexual ethics. And the change in self-perception among some believers has been jarring.

2.

The manner in which conservative Christians navigate their journey away from outdated notions of a “Christian America” will have much to say about the quality of our public life in the actual America.

I think this is a timeless statement. Something similar could have been uttered in 1795, 1860, 1965, etc.

3.

There are valid concerns about what the Supreme Court ruling portends for institutions — particularly Catholic and evangelical institutions that serve the poor and educate the young — that touch upon the public order but do not share its values.

4.

Religious liberty means little if it does not extend to institutions as well as individuals.

We do need to work to maintaining religious liberty. We do have the potential for doing that, since Liberty (not just religious liberty) and the Bill of Rights and the separation of Church and State our (I hope still) a part of our foundations.

There are those that would argue that this is not all about inclusion and give-everybody-a-chance. There are groups out there that want to attack and destroy the church, an will use any nice-sounding social issue at their disposal to undermine the church.

Personally, I choose not to take this paranoid approach.

I’d rather do as John Wesley said (spoiler alert, OK, Wesley was overly thorough): “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.”